This invention relates to a pet feeding system, specifically to a feeding mat, bowl or tray for slowing a pet's eating while simultaneously engaging and entertaining the pet.
The un-domesticated ancestor of the modern dog had to expend a considerable amount of energy to obtain a meal. In comparison, today's domestic dogs typically are fed a bowl of food twice a day, and eat their food in less than a minute. When a dog eats too fast its stomach may become ‘bloated,’ which can lead to dangerous or even deadly medical conditions.
There are feeding toys and bowls on the market for slowing a dog's eating, although both the toys and the bowls have drawbacks. First, rubber toys such as the Kong® are meant to hold soft and sticky food, such as canned dog food, peanut butter and the like. The Kong® and similar toys meant for holding wet food have too large an opening to contain dry food. In contrast, plastic food dispensers such as the Talk to Me Treat Ball®, the Clix Dog Pyramid® and the Buster Cube® have a small opening for holding dry food, with internal channels for accommodating the dry food. Wet, sticky food would be inaccessible to a dog, if placed inside such a dispenser. Furthermore, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to properly clean the wet food from the dispenser
Toy food dispensers, like the Buster Cube®, the CLIX Dog Pyramid® and the Talk To Me Treat Ball® can also make a lot of noise when a dog bounces them around in an attempt to access the food inside. Also, these feeding toys can create a mess in the home when food and crumbs are left behind as a dog rolls the toy around to get the food out.